Maxwell POV

The drive was quiet, heavy with unspoken memories. I didn’t tell Claire where we were going, but she seemed to sense it wasn’t just any place. When I pulled over near the old lakeside trail, her breath caught softly, as if the air itself recognized her. This place had always belonged to Amelia and me. Our refuge. Our secret from a world that never stopped demanding pieces of us.

We stepped out of the car, the scent of pine and damp earth wrapping around us. The lake ...